SHAFAQNA- Organizers wanted to create a safe platform for non-Muslims to come and learn about Islam to help dispel common myths and misconceptions.

Photo: James Vavrek

Non-Muslim women were able to wear hijab to help gain a better understanding of why and how it is worn.

Last Saturday, Muslim and Non-Muslim Columbus community members gathered in Viewpoint Books for “Hijab Day,” an event meant to facilitate understanding of hijab as not a headscarf, but to act as a barrier of humility to god.

Event organizer Hanna Omar says Columbus needed this event because of all of the questions that her and other Muslims in the area receive.

“We wear hijab all the time, and we’re constantly getting questions by men and women, and some don’t ask those questions because they feel it’s rude,” she says.

Jessica Murnane was among the non-Muslim crowd at the event and came out to gain knowledge that she could share with some of her non-Muslims friends, especially concerning hijab.

“I’ve been saying a hijab this whole time, as though it were a t-shirt or a coat,” Murnane says. “And through talking with folks and reading the literature today it is simply hijab, just wearing hijab, so I learned that right away when I walked in.”